Hair piece and method and apparatus for making same

ABSTRACT

A hair piece is made of a base of alternating nylon and thin transparent or translucent plastic layers underlying an anchor net with hair strands fixed to the net. Hair wefts are made upon a bifurcated frame divided centrally by string hair retainers which also act to contain a plastic anchor strip applied as a liquid. The bottom of the base is contoured and bias-edged to have a slightly greater curvature than the scalp for which it is designed in order to provide scalp ventilation. The method of fabrication includes steps of making a head contour mold from which plaster casts are made as mandrels for the anchor net and for the base, weaving hair strands into the anchor net in one portion that are adhered to the nylon and plastic base in a final coating of the plastic. Remaining portions of the anchor net are covered by rows of long continuous weft strips made upon the frame, which has two beveled rails spaced apart about a central double string retainer.

Incando HAIR PIECE AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING SAME [76]Inventor: Peter Anthony lncando, 8907 E.

Valley Blvd., Rosemead, Calif. 91770 [22] Filed: Aug. 27, 1973 [21]Appl. No.: 392,038

[52] US. Cl. 132/53 [51] Int. Cl A41g 3/00 [58] Field of Search 132/53,54, 5, 9, 7

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,199,144 9/1916 Zak ..132/51,464,089 8/1923 Ernest 132/53 1,845,380 2/1932 Westmore 132/532,736,325 2/1956 Drurzsak 132/53 2,907,334 10/1959 LeMole 132/53,032,042 5/1962 Mechan.. 132/5 3,037,261 6/1962 Hess 132/53 3,472,24610/1969 Ostrom... 132/53 3,483,875 12/1969 Trissell 132/53 June 17, 1975Primary Examiner-GE. McNeill Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Wm. JacquetGribble [57] ABSTRACT A hair piece is made of a base of alternatingnylon and thin transparent or translucent plastic layers underlying ananchor net with hair strands fixed to the net. Hair wefts are made upona bifurcated frame divided centrally by string hair retainers which alsoact to contain a plastic anchor strip applied as a liquid. The bottom ofthe base is contoured and bias-edged to have a slightly greatercurvature than the scalp for which it is designed in order to providescalp ventilation. The method of fabrication includes steps of making ahead contour mold from which plaster casts are made as mandrels for theanchor net and for the base, weaving hair strands into the anchor net inone portion that are adhered to the nylon and plastic base in a finalcoating of the plastic. Remaining portions of the anchor net are coveredby rows of long continuous weft strips made upon the frame, which hastwo beveled rails spaced apart about a central double string retainer.

2 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEUJUN 17 I975 SHEET MOLD OF HEADCONTOUR (PLAsTER BANDAGE) MOLD PLASTER SUBSTRATE FOR BASE M OD/F YSUBSTRATE CONTOUR APPLY NYLON MESH TO SUBSTRATE APPLY PVC COATINGS TOMESH APPLY NYLON MESH TO PREVIOUS LAYERS REPEAT STEPS F8 6 CURE BASE 72HOURS APPLY WEFT S7'RANDS TO FRAME FORM ANCHOR MOLD PLAsTER SUBSTRATEFOR ANCHOR BB APPLY LAcE cc To SUBSTRATE ENGAGE HAIR STRANDS DD //v LAcEAT PART STYLE AND PIN EE HAIR STRANDS REMOVE LACE a HAIR FF FROMSUBSTRATE TRIAL FIT LAaEa HAIR 66 To BASE AND INDEX PIN FIX ANCHOR LLAcE T0 BASE STYLE HAIR M WHILE PVC WET "OVEN" cuRE N /40 To 180 APPLYWEFT sTRAA/b? 1 4 L i BAND ON S TRANDS SEVER WEFT STRAND ALONG ANCHORBANDS HAIR PIECE AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING SAME BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION The invention relates to hair pieces and the method offabricating hair pieces, and more particularly to hair pieces which maybe securely fixed to the scalp of a wearer and which comprise hairstrands fixed to the hair piece base by two or more different methods.

Great progress has been made in the field of hair pieces which blendnaturally with remaining hair and which stay in place under normalactivities. However, accidental loss of such hair pieces is common andthe contour dictated by the means of affixing the hair piece and thematerials used in the hair pieces have made them obvious on a wearer.

l have invented a hair piece and a method and apparatus for fabricatingthe same which results in a hair piece which cannot be distinguishedfrom the natural hair of the wearer and which remains fixed in placedespite strenuous activity on the part of the wearer, and which iscomfortably cool to wear because a major portion of the hair base isslightly separated from the scalp of the wearer during use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention contemplates a hair piececomprising a hair base having a downward concavity of slightly greatercurvature than the scalp of the wearer. The base has a multiplicity ofnylon and plastic layers in which the plastic layers are transparent ortranslucent and the nylon layers are flesh-colored. Hair anchor lace ofa material chemically compatible with the plastic layers of the base hashair strands anchored to it. Preferably the hair strands are individualstrands blended together of human hair and synthetic fibers, in theratio of percent human hair and 80 percent synthetic fibers,approximately. Some hair strands are stitched to the anchor net,particularly along the part line of the hair piece, while others areapplied to the anchor net as continuous weft strips spiralling from thelower edge of the hair piece around and upward to the part line.

The process of the invention contemplates the steps of forming a castingfrom the head of the hair piece user, molding a hair anchor form and abase form from the head casting and fixing a hair anchor lace to theanchor form. Hair and synthetic fiber strands are then secured to theanchor lace while alternating layers of nylon and plastic are appliedover the base form. The base is cured during application of thesuccessive layers. Preferably a final coat of plastic is applied to theupper layer of the base form and the base form is placed upon a headform after placing a layer of absorbent material between the head formand the base form, followed by the steps of applying the anchor lacewith some hair strands to the base such that the anchor lace is grippedby the liquid layer of plastic on the top of the base form, and securingthe anchor lace in place on the base form with pins extending into theabsorbent layer beneath the base form. Hair wefts in strips are madeupon a frame, each weft comprising hair strands and a plastic filmanchor band. The plastic film anchor band is central of the length ofthe weft strands and after the plastic film dries the anchor band andthe strands associated therewith are parted longitudinally of the bandto make two symmetrical wefts, which are divided and adhered at theanchor band to the anchor lace.

The frame of the invention for making the unique hair wefts comprisesparallel spaced rails having upwardly beveled surfaces with adhesive onthe surfaces and spaced retainer strings removably extending between therails to form a film trough with applied hair strands as the troughbase.

The resultant hair piece is one which can be made from presentlyobtainable materials and which can be processed with conventionalmolding techniques and equipment. While skill is required to implementthe process, the steps thereof are comprehended simply and techniciansmay be easily trained in the process. Several hair pieces can be inprocess at the same time within a limited space with the intervalsbetween the steps providing time for the technicians to move from hairpiece to hair piece during fabrication. These and other advantages ofthe invention are apparent from the following detailed description anddrawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of anin-process hair piece with the plastic and nylon base trimmed with edgehair strands;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a hair piece base with the hair pattern areasindicated;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional elevation taken through the hair piecein which layer thicknesses are exaggerated;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of exemplary hair piece wefts;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section of an edge of the base;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of the weft-making apparatus;

FIG. 7 is a sectional elevation taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 6 with hairstrands in place;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional elevation taken along a line similarto line 77 of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the steps of the inventive process.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The hair piece of the inventioncovers the head area where hair is thin or gone, blending with remainingstrands so as to be undetectable. Such concealment is possible becauseof the unique invention and process and apparatus disclosed herein.

As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, a hair piece 11 having a base 13 inaccordance with the invention is generally oblong, with the front toback dimension being longer. However, the hair piece may be applied tothin or bald areas of other configuration, so that the invention hasapplication to hair pieces of any configu' ration. The long dimension inmost instances, however, varies between 5 to 8 inches and the shortdimension from 3 to 6 inches.

Many hair pieces are secured to the head to cover baldness along a partline, such as the lines 14, 14A of FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively. The hairstrands l6 and 17, which are fixed in an anchor net or lace 18, aretherefore secured to the anchor net or lace so as to fall in aparticular direction with respect to the part line 14. Each strand 16,17 is individually secured within the hair anchor net, is conventionalfashion, at the intersection of two crossing net strands. The attitudeof the warp and woof of the net with respect to the part line has beendiscovered to affect the disposition of the hair strands. The invention,therefore, includes an anchor net 18 placed with respect to the front torear axis of the head or the part line such that the warp and woofstrands of the net cross the axis at an angle. The angle varies with thedesired fall of the hair strands. The hair wefts 19, 19A of FIG. 4 areapplied to the net in an edge-to-center spiral as indicated in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 2 the anchor net 18 is shown only fragmentarily so that thedesired hair strand pattern of lines 20 laid out on the hair anchor netform or mandrel 21 can be seen. The pattern areas are determined inaccordance with best wigmakers practice, the pattern varying with thehair style and strand pattern of the wearer such that the illustratedmandrel marking is no more than exemplary.

The hair piece 11 of the invention has four basic components: the base13 which is made up of a multiplicity of plastic layers 23 and amultiplicity of nylon layers 24. Preferably the nylon is in the form ofa mesh cloth similar to the weave of nylon stockings and each plasticlayer is of a substance like poly vinyl chloride or PVC. The secondcomponent is the anchor net 18 to which the third component, the hairstrands l6 and 17, are attached. The fourth component is the hair wefts19, 19A.

A secondary element of the hair piece is shown in FIG. and comprises abeveled edge 25 adjacent which short strands 27 are attached. Both thebevel and the short strands extend around the periphery of the hair baseand enhance the blending of the hair piece with the natural strands ofthe user.

A smooth underside 28 of the base has a contour determined from the headcontour of the user. Each of the mandrels, respectively, is formed froma cloth and plaster cast (not shown) made of the users scalp area. Eachof the mandrels is then modified as to its contour such that theresulting hair piece base has a contour of greater curvature than theusers head so that the hair piece in place is spaced slightly from thescalp in its central area. The base may be secured to the head of thewearer by double-faced surgical tape, not shown, such as is inconventional usage in medical and cosmetic circles.

It has been discovered that a blend of human hair strands and syntheticstrands in a certain proportion affords a hair piece of extremelynatural appearance and which can be permanently set in a particular hairstyle. One plastic strand which lends itself to such blending is avinyon stereoregular or vinylic hair of a type which is sold under thetrademark Venicelon by the firm Chatillon of Milan, Italy. In order toachieve permanent setting of the strands, it is important that amajority of the strands of the hair piece be of the synthetic material.In a preferred embodiment of the invention the strand blend is 80percent synthetic strands and percent human hair strands.

The area density of the strands may vary with respect to the location tothe part. In the part area the strands are as dense as 300 per squareinch, while in the area more remote from the part, the density may be175 strands per square inch. These figures are average figures and varysomewhat with the diameter of the strands used to match the natural hairof the user.

Turning now to FIG. 3, the various plastic layers 23 and nylon meshlayers 24 have been exaggerated in thickness. The undersurface 28 isfirst laid upon a thin polyurethane separation layer which rests uponthe mandrel 21 to prevent bonding to the mandrel. Each of the layers 23comprises a dried poly vinyl chloride coating, each of which is appliedone by one after the previous coating is dried. After three to five suchPVC layers a nylon mesh layer 24 is applied to the last of the PVCcoatings while the coating is still undried. The PVC may be transparentand therefore the nylon mesh 24 can be chosen for color to impart acolor density to the hair piece closely matching the scalp coloration ofthe eventual user. In a preferred hair piece of the invention, the hairbase has 30 to 40 poly vinyl chloride layers and five layers of nylonmesh and the anchor net of nylon lace is applied atop these.

In order to heighten the deceptive qualities of the hair piece, apowdered coloring agent is applied to the part line after the anchor netwith its hair strands is applied to the base piece 13. The coloringpowder may be a finely ground fiberglass of the proper color density.

The hair piece of the invention may be applied to the head of the userin the proper orientation and secured thereto by the double-faced tapewith the tabs of tape on the under surface of the hair piece at frontand rear. Because of the air space between the scalp and theundersurface 28 of the hair piece, the inventive hair piece iscomfortable to wear and because of the affinity between the double-facedtape and the material of the hair piece base, the hair piece stayssecurely in place.

The Process As can be seen from FIG. 10, the method of the inventioninvolves three parallel lines of action which are united toward the endof the process. The steps marked B, C, D, etc. refer to the steps of theprocess for the fabrication of the hair piece base 13. The steps of theprocess marked BB, CC, DD etc. delineate the pro cess steps for formingthe anchor net with its hair strands prior to union with the base 13.The steps A, B, C and D refer to process for making hair wefts. All ofthe steps of the process are simple in concept but do require manualdexterity and care for proper execution. However, none of the stepsrequires techniques beyond the capability of present technology.

As can be seen from FIG. 10, a mold of the head contour is first madewith a plaster bandage technique. Two molds 21 are then made (B, BB)from the mold of the head contour. These molds of plaster become thesubstrate for the base and for the anchor net and are shown in FIG. 2 at21.

The mold 21 is then modified (C) to agree in contour with the desiredundersurface 28 of the eventual hair piece base. After this contour isachieved a PVC coating is applied to the substrate which is preferablycovered at this time by a polyurethane membrane to which the PVC coatingdoes not adhere. Several PVC coatings are applied at time intervalsdetermined by the drying time of the substrate-supported first coatings.A nylon mesh layer is then applied while the last of the previous P VCcoatings is still wet. Subsequently additional PVC coatings are appliedto the mesh. This process is repeated with requisite drying intervalsuntil the desired base thickness and color density is achieved. The baseis then cured for seventy-two hours, more or less, depending upon thecuring temperature selected.

Normally, an ambient temperature of about 70 F is satisfactory.

While the fabrication of the base 13 is progressing, the same operatoror a second operator may be processing the anchor lace with its hairstrands. The plaster substrate is marked in accordance with the hairpattern desired in the hair piece and the anchor net 18 is pinned inplace about it with the orientation of the net warp and woof withrespect to the front to rear line, as previously stated. This angle maybe on the order of 30. The anchor net is pinned in place upon thesubstrate or mandrel usually by inserting pins into a cloth head (notshown) upon which the substrate is supported. As a practical matter. thesubstrate is usually anchored to a paper head form (not shown) with pinsto form a stand upon which work is performed. Hair strands are thenengaged in the lace of the anchor net around the part line in accordancewith the desired density per square inch and pattern as dictated by thelay-out on the substrate. The hair is then styled and pinned in placewith conventional hair styling equipment, such as the Klippee 30. Thelace and hair are then removed from the substrate and trial fitted tothe base 13 upon its substrate 21 with index marks being made upon thebase substrate and the paper head (not shown) upon which the basesubstrate is pinned. As indicated by the dotted line of the diagram, thelace and hair are not fixed to the} base atgt'his point but are removedtherefrom and the base receives a final PVC coating 35 (K). The lace andhair are then quickly transferred to the base with its wet finalcoating. The coating normally dries in about 80 seconds and considerableskill is required to transfer quickly the anchor net and hair inaccordance with the index markings previously fixed to the basesubstrate and mounting head. The base and the anchor net and strands arethen cured (N) at a temperature of between 140 and 180 for a period of24 hours.

After this curing it may be desirable to reheat the hair piece to softenthe base 1.3 so that the edge of the base may be contoured or beveled,as shown in FIG. 5, in order to perfect the fit between the scalp andthe edge of the base piece and insure the arched relationship betweenhead and base. The short strands 27 may be applied around the peripheryof the base at this point, since the softening of the PVC base issufficient to ad here the strands to the periphery.

Hair Weft Process The weft process of fabrication shown as part of FIG.is best implemented through the apparatus shown in FIGS. 6-9. In FIG. 6a frame indicated generally at 41 has spaced parallel side members eachhaving inwardly and upwardly slanting top surfaces 44, 45, respectivelydefining beveled rails 42, 43. On each of these surfaces is a lowadhesion gripping strip 47. The space between the side members ismaintained by relatively high spacer blocks 48, 49 and a plurality ofrelatively low spacer blocks 51, the number of which depends upon thelength of the frame 41. It has been found that a 48 inch long frameusing four spacer blocks is well suited to the fabrication of hairwefts.

A retaining pin 54 is located in one of the end spacer blocks 49 at apoint below the bottoms of spaced thread notches 55, 56 which are ineach end spacer block. A small nylon thread is lodged first in a notch55 and its first loose end held in place by a piece of adhesive tape 57.The thread or strand is then extended between the side members throughthe opposite end piece notch 55, looped about the retainer pin 54 andthen threaded through the notches 56 of the two opposite spacer blocksand the second loose end is secured with the remaining portion of thetape 57 such that the thread defines two taut courses 61, 62 parallelcentral of the side members of the frame.

As can be seen from FIGS. 7-9, the thread is applied after amultiplicity of strands 19, 19A have been placed transversely of theside members, held in place by the adhesive strips 47. The length of thestrands depends upon the need in the particular hair piece and themake-up of the strands is preferably blended in the proportionspreviously described with the majority of the strands being synthetic.The strands 19, 19A are continuous when applied to the frame and areheld in place on the frame not only by the adhesive qualities of thestrips 47 but also by the downward pressure of the tensioned threadcourses 61, 62. As can be seen in FIG. 8, the thread courses define atrough in which the threads are the sides and the hair strands are thebottom.

The process includes the steps of applying the strands to the frame,tensioning the thread courses along the frame and upon the hair strandsand then applying an adhesive film to the strands between the threadcourses. In FIG. 9 the application of the adhesive film is illustratedwith a fragmentarily shown liquid adhesive container 65 having an exitspout 66 being traversed between the thread courses so as to deposit afilm of hesive which quickly dries and hardens to form a band 67adhering to the hair strands. Once the adhesive film has sufficientlydried, the band and the strands adhering to it are severed centrally ofthe thread courses to form the two wefts 19, 19A of FIG. 4. The weftsare then in condition to be applied as illustrated in FIG. 1 to hair net18. The bands 67A, 678 formed by severing are chemically compatible withthe materials of the base and are adhered by solvent welding, preferablyin a spiral pattern inwardly from the edge of the hair piece such thatthe wefts hold several layers of hair strands at any point on the hairpiece. With such overlapping strands, the hair strands of the wefts maybe combed and styled and blended with the hair strands l6 and 17previously anchored in the net and styled to reveal the part line.

An alternative embodiment of the process includes the coloration of thepart line with powdered coloring agent, which may be fiberglassgranules. This step may be done while the hair is being styled after theanchor net and the base have been united and while the final coating 35is still wet.

Several plastics bond well to the preferred nylon mesh of the laminatedbase. It has been found that poly vinyl chloride (PVC) is best suited tothe fabrication of the base. Therefore, special blends of PVC withketones and oxygenated solvents with the resins have been developed. Insome instances a flatting agent has been added to reduce reflectivity ofthe laminar base.

A plasticizer is a desirable additive to the basis PVC formulation,giving more flexure characteristics to the laminar base. DiOxtylPlasticizer (D.O.P.) is well suited to this purpose, with No. 700 beingthe least flexible grade used. In each formulation the resultant PVCadapts to common solvents so that the nylon netting is easily secured onthe base and the hair weft anchor bands, of a similar material, mayeasily be adhered to 7 the net which is permeated by the plastic finallayer the base.

The hair piece of the invention is a unique piece representingconsiderable advance in the art and the process is adapted to afabrication of hair pieces of many colors, styles and sizes. Manymodifications in both the process and the hair piece of the inventionwithin the scope of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art.It is therefore desired that the invention be measured by the appendedclaims rather than by the illustrative embodiments disclosed herein.

1 claim:

1. A hair piece for attachment to the scalp of a user and comprising abase having a plurality of polyvinylchloride plastic layers, a concaveundersurface on the base, and nylon mesh cloth layers; a nylon anchornet and a multiplicity of strands of hair fixed to the anchor net, saidanchor net and base being joined by the final plastic layer of the base;some of said hair strands being looped through the anchor net; and someof said strands of hair being hair wefts each comprising a plurality ofhair strands, a plasticized anchor band chemically co-soluble with theplastic layers of the base and securing each hair strand of each weft inlike orientation with respect to the extent of the anchor band, saidhair wefts being solvently united with said plastic layers by reason oftheir compatible chemical solubility.

2. A process for fabricating hair wefts for application to hair piecesand comprising the steps of spacing two parallel slanting tops along acourse, placing a plurality of hair strands across the tops so as toextend between the tops and outwardly beyond both rails; tensioningspaced, parallel threads across the strands between the tops so as todefine a trough having strands for a bottom and threads for sides,pouring solvent plastic on the strands between the threads in thetrough, to form an anchor band, hardening the solvent so as to bond tothe strands, dividing the anchor band and the strands along the run ofthe anchor band.

1. A HAIR PIECE FOR ATTACHMENT TO THE SCALP OF A USER AND COMPRISING ABASE HAVING A PLURALITY OF POLYVINYLCHLORIDE PLASTIC LAYERS, A CONCAVEUNDERSURFACE ON THE BASE, AND NYLON MESH CLOTH LAYERS, A NYLON ANCHORNET AND A MULTIPLICITY OF STRANDS OF HAIR FIXED TO THE ANCHOR NET, SAIDANCHOR NET AND BASE BEING JOINED BY THE FINAL PLASTIC LAYER OF THE BASE,SOME OF SAID HAIR STRANDS BEING LOOPED THROUGH THE ANCHOR NET, AND SOMEOF SAID STRANDS OF HAIR BEING HAIR WEFTS EACH COMPRISING A PLURALITY OFHAIR STRANDS, A PLASTICIZED ANCHOR BAND CHEMICALLY CO-SOLUBLE WITH THEPLASTIC LAYERS OF THE BASE AND SECURING
 2. A process for fabricatinghair wefts for application to hair pieces and comprising the steps ofspacing two parallel slanting tops along a course, placing a pluralityof hair strands across the tops so as to extend between the tops andoutwardly beyond both rails; tensioning spaced, parallel threads acrossthe strands between the tops so as to define a trough having strands fora bottom and threadS for sides, pouring solvent plastic on the strandsbetween the threads in the trough, to form an anchor band, hardening thesolvent so as to bond to the strands, dividing the anchor band and thestrands along the run of the anchor band.